No vaccinations are required, but dengue reaches Kaohsiung and Tainan over the summer. Municipal water leaves the plant drinkable and picks up contamination in old building plumbing, so boil it or use the hotel dispenser. Taiwan Adventist in Taipei has an International Priority Care Center; the registration fee alone is NTD 1,700.
- No vaccination is required to enter and there is no malaria; hepatitis A and B and tetanus are the sensible ones to be current on.
- Dengue appears in the south, around Kaohsiung and Tainan, in the summer months - high-DEET repellent and long clothing at dusk.
- Do not drink water straight from the tap. It leaves the treatment plant as drinking water; the risk is old building plumbing. Hotels supply bottled water or filtered dispensers.
- Taiwan Adventist Hospital in Taipei runs an English- and Japanese-speaking priority care centre, where registration alone is 1,700 NTD, with exams and medication billed on top.
- National Health Insurance does not cover non-residents, so treatment is paid in cash or by card, or billed to your insurer - which makes proper travel insurance non-optional.
Health, insurance and where to be treated
No mandatory vaccination is required to enter Taiwan, and malaria does not occur here.
- Recommended - standard vaccination against hepatitis A and B, and tetanus.
- Dengue fever appears in the south, especially Kaohsiung and Tainan, during the summer months. Use high-DEET repellents and wear long clothing at dusk.
Do not drink tap water straight from the tap. Municipal water is filtered strictly and leaves the treatment plant as drinking water; the problem is secondary contamination in old, poorly maintained building plumbing. Most hotels supply free bottled water daily or have hot/cold filtered dispensers in the hallways.
Hospitals suitable for foreigners, with English-speaking staff:
- Taipei - Taiwan Adventist Hospital (TAH) - central Songshan, at 424, Section 2, Bade Road, Taipei. Its International Priority Care Center (IPCC) is fully English- and Japanese-speaking. Registration there is 1,700 NTD, with exams, lab tests and medication billed separately. Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) does not cover non-residents, so care is paid in cash, by card, or billed directly to your international insurer.
- Kaohsiung - Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital - a large teaching hospital whose International Medical Center (IMC) has English-speaking coordinators. No. 123, Dapi Road, Niaosong District, Kaohsiung.
Take out commercial travel insurance with adequate medical coverage before departure - care for uninsured foreigners at the international centres can reach very high amounts.
Comments
No comments yet. Share the first one.
Share a tip
Sign in to continue.